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The fortunes of the Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs Football Clubs intersected when the two sides met in June last year at Etihad Stadium. The Demons were finally and slowly emerging from years of deprivation and suffering in the competition's lower depths while the Bulldogs were rapidly descending from the dizzy heights of the previous year's unexpected September glory.

Despite the fact that both sides seemed to be heading in different directions, the outcome was still a shock to all, with the hitherto inconsistent Melbourne combination dominating throughout and, perhaps in a portent of things to come, winning all four quarters.

We thought we had made it. We almost had it all but it turned out, that the hopes of a top four placing or even a finals finish were to prove premature, perhaps because the Demons were experiencing a "That's Life" moment as described in the Frank Sinatra hit song.

They were riding high during that particular month and they were cut down in the next one but you could mount an argument that it all began with what was otherwise a very happy afternoon at Etihad for Melbourne fans.

The victory however, was soured in the final quarter when co-captain Nathan Jones (quad) and Jack Watts (hamstring tightness) were both taken off as a precaution for assessment during the coming week. In the end, both missed the next month and they were joined on the sidelines in the weeks to come by a number of others including the team’s other skipper, Jack Viney.

Melbourne went on to record a great victory over the Eagles on the following Saturday but the number of consecutive six day breaks, the injuries and a controversial suspension to Tomas Bugg in the next game against the Swans, all took their toll.

The weakened team found themselves flat on their faces and, despite attempts to pick themselves up and get back in the race, the tiring Demons were floundering. Despite the fact that they were perilously close to making the finals for the first time in over a decade, they simply rolled themselves up in a big ball and died at the last hurdle.

Poets, dreamers, philosophers and crooners like Frank might well ask whether the experience of a "That's Life" moment last year was a sign for the club and supporters that it was too soon to be thinking of premierships; that had the Demons fallen into the top eight, they might well have suffered the same fate as their replacement Essendon, which was bundled out in humiliation at the hands of the Swans by 80 points in the Elimination Final.

The club has bounced back and we now find it again challenging for the finals and a top four finish even more strongly but this time, the team is much better equipped with greater depth, class, durability and experience than it had at this time last year.

Just as the great Sinatra was able overcome and recover from extended periods of failure in his career, the time is now right for the Melbourne Football Club.

Melbourne smashed the reigning premiers by 57 points to move to fifth place on the AFL ladder. It was a spiteful encounter fueled before the game when Tomas Bugg controversially taunted Bulldog Jason Johannisen on social media. The ploy worked as the Demons took advantage of a hesitant opponent to record a comfortable win and stamp their credentials for a place in the finals.

The paradox about a game in which Melbourne starts as clear favourite is the fact that the Western Bulldogs will take the field with more than half a team comprised of premiership players while their counterparts have just one, and only a handful have even been a part of finals football. Co-captain Nathan Jones, who will be playing in his 250th match, is the only current team member to have tasted the finals experience as a Demon.

That we have to go back in time only 20 months to the time when the Western Bulldogs stormed their way to the flag, is testament to the fickleness of our sport. They were on top one day and twelve months later, they finished in the bottom half of the ladder. Today, with almost half the season gone, they occupy a place in the bottom six with a percentage south of 80.

And yet, the Doggies still have some of the game’s elite within their ranks. The in-form Jack Macrae is at the head of many of the media’s best player rankings, Marcus Bontempelli is regarded among the game’s top shelf while it was not long ago that the likes of Luke Dahlhaus, Lachlan Hunter, Jason Johannisen and Easton Wood were the toast of the town. Despite their past two defeats at the hands of top eight sides, they did win three games on the trot in rounds six to eight.

The problem for the Bulldogs is that they have lost enough of the keys to the premiership success through retirement, injury or loss of form and have been unable to fill the void in class. As a consequence, their team appears unbalanced, inexperienced and down in confidence. In short, they are a long way from being capable of replicating the magic of September, 2016.

Going back to those very recent heady days, it would have been unthinkable to consider them as being vulnerable to Melbourne in any game played at where the Bulldogs were lords and masters. These days however, the ground is a veritable fortress for the Demons who shook off the gloom of consecutive losses to Hawthorn and Richmond earlier this year to beat Essendon and St Kilda at the beginning of their current winning streak. They have won four games in a row at Etihad Stadium, a place which was not long ago viewed by their fans with shock, fear and awe.

But it’s a different Melbourne these days. On the back of its current winning streak, it has established an unenviable record - it leads the competition in percentage, it’s the highest scoring team, number one for inside 50s and marks inside that area and most importantly, is the winner of the contested possession count.

Add the dominance of ruckman Max Gawn and the fact that Jack Viney is finding his feet (and pardon the pun) after his long stint out with injury, it’s hard tipping against the Demons who could only lose if they start bathing in the glory of the complimentary publicity they’ve been receiving of late.

With co-captain Nathan Jones leading then out for his 250th game reminding them of how much effort is required for a downtrodden side to lift itself back up to get in the race, I expect the team to be well grounded and up to the task of making it six in a row.

Match Previews, Reports & Articles

It was appropriate that Melbourne was playing its last game of season 2019 in Hobart. After all, how much further south could the team go?
And much as it has done in many of the previous 22 games, the side managed to extract a loss from a winning position by simply giving the ball back to the opposition time and time again. In fact, they gave it back to the opposition to the tune of 53 points from turnovers while, by way of contrast North Melbourne contributed only 17 points to their oppo

I can vividly remember when the Demons ventured onto Blundstone Arena for the first time in early 2016 only to lose to the Kangaroos by 20.11.131 to 21.10.136.
Melbourne was then a team on the up and up: young, enthusiastic and bold. It gave up a huge quarter time deficit after kicking against a strong wind but made that up by half time and fell dramatically short after an exciting high scoring affair.
The team lost no fans that day - they were willing to take the game on and attac

The Casey Demons finished off their home and away season against Frankston at Skybus Stadium on Sunday with a narrow, unconvincing 6-point victory that left the door slightly open for a top eight berth when the VFL finals begin in a fortnight’s time.
While sunny skies prevailed over Frankston in the morning, the skies became overcast by noon and heavy waves pounded the bay nearby as the rains came in to greet the players as the game started. And conditions stayed dark and dreary for the rem

Thanks, but no thanks!
In a round where the club was supposed to thank their fans for the support during the year, the Melbourne Football Club chose to do otherwise with a 53 point loss to a team that sat 15th on the ladder.
Don’t give us cheap jumpers that can’t be sold in the Demon shop. Don’t give us vouchers to shop there, give us something on the field, which is why we come to the football in the first place.
It was a disgraceful performance, which started with a disgracefu

Around about 12 months ago Melbourne and Sydney fought out an epic battle between two top eight teams fighting for the best possible ladder position in the lead up to the finals. The Swans triumphed by 9 points at the MCG after the Demons came back from five goals down at three quarter time. But for its poor kicking for goal, Melbourne might well have won the game and finished in the top four. Who knows what might then have happened for the club in September?
As a consequence, the person re

Two clubs that have been hard hit by injury recently took part in a dour battle under dark clouds and, with intermittent showers falling, it wasn’t a pretty game at Victoria Park on Sunday.
Despite all that, the Casey Demons added a little ray of sunshine to their day to get the job done over a "traditional" rival with a 15 point victory over Collingwood VFL that breathed life back into their season.
There were a few highlights at the ground that in past days has seen many titanic batt

We have seen it all before…
Yes, a wonderful idea to showcase what used to be in football.
Big crowds, umpires who knew how to apply the rules and not opinions, high marks, skilful players.
But for the Melbourne supporters their retro is what it has been like for the past 10 years. Losing games, end on end, year after year. Opportunities squandered in front of goal. VFL standard players running around at the MCG. Just more of the same, and the game against Collingwood was no ex

Thanks to Demonlanders for their input into this week’s preview.
Ralphius Maximus is short and bittersweet:
We'll crack in at the bounce to create a contest, win our share of the ball, butcher the forward movement and get scored on easily from the intercepts. Not that hard to predict.
Big Demon says:
Unfortunately Collingwood will win because they have a lot more to play for. We will be good in parts but really the season is well over so we will have to put up with those bell

The feeling when turning up to the MCG on a Saturday night to play a top four side in Richmond, while the Melbourne sits cemented in close proximity to the bottom of the table is like attending the Colosseum in Ancient Roman times. The expectation is that a bloodbath is about to occur.
There are 100,000 Richmond members and 50,000 Melbourne members, and despite the fact that it turned out to be a wet night after half-time, a crowd of only 37K bothered to turn up. That should never have happ

A young and undermanned Casey Demons were sent out on Saturday to the Swinburne Centre in the shadows of the MCG on a man’s errand against a very experienced Richmond VFL combination which is the clear ladder leader and fielded no less than 18 AFL listed players.
It was expected to be a rout and the Tigers made easy work of it in the early stages when they held a 26 point lead by quarter time. To their credit however, the Demons weathered the storm and kept their opponents within the range

As the season rolls on towards the finals and the football world witnesses the aftermath of the sacking of the league’s unsuccessful coaches, it’s almost inevitable that the spotlight will turn firmly upon the complete and utter failure of season 2019 - the Melbourne Football Club.
For a team that finished in fourth place last year and was heavily touted as a premiership contender, the fall from grace has been dramatic. As things stand, the Demons look certain to finish 13 places down on

At half time in Sunday’s game at Trevor Barker Beach Oval, things weren’t looking too flash for the flailing finals prospects of the Casey Demons. Key forward Sam Weideman had suffered a concussion in his first contest and, with a few exceptions, the team was playing like a rabble rather than a finals contender. The Demons were 23 points in arrears to the Zebras and their season was headed towards oblivion.
It was the skipper Mitch White who spurred his team on by word and by deed - he fini